Victorio Peak, New Mexico Mystery Treasure
Victorio Peak, a stark, rugged prominence in the south-central New Mexico landscape, is a geological feature that rises abruptly from the desert floor. Barely exceeding 500 feet in height, this craggy outcropping commands attention within the otherwise relatively flat expanse of the Hembrillo Basin. The Hembrillo Basin itself is a vast, arid depression, a remnant of an ancient lakebed, now characterized by sparse vegetation and the ever-present, haunting beauty of the desert. Beyond the basin stretches the Jornada del Muerto, a formidable hundred-mile expanse of desert known for its harsh conditions and historical significance. The peak, now nestled within the confines of the White Sands Missile Range in northern Doña Ana County, is a place steeped in history, mystery, and whispers of untold riches. The allure of Victorio Peak and its potential treasure has captivated imaginations for decades.
The area surrounding Victorio Peak holds historical significance dating back to the Apache tribes. It once served as one of the hideouts for the famed Apache Chief Victorio. In 1880, this very ground was the scene of a clash between Victorio’s warriors and the U.S. Army’s Ninth Cavalry, a regiment comprised of African American soldiers, known as the "Buffalo Soldiers." This historical context adds another layer to the mystique surrounding the peak, blending tales of Native American resistance with the legendary pursuit of hidden wealth.
The modern narrative of Victorio Peak and its treasure begins with Milton Ernest "Doc" Noss, a man whose life was marked by adventure and a relentless pursuit of fortune. Born in Oklahoma, Doc Noss traversed the American Southwest, driven by a thirst for excitement and the promise of undiscovered opportunities. In 1933, he married Ova "Babe" Beckworth, and together they settled in Hot Springs, New Mexico, a town that would later be renamed Truth or Consequences, a testament to the quirky spirit of the region.
In November 1937, Doc Noss, Babe, and a small group embarked on a deer hunting expedition into the Hembrillo Basin. Establishing a base camp on the desert floor at the foot of Victorio Peak, the men ventured into the wilderness while their wives remained at the camp. During his solitary hunt, Doc sought refuge under a rocky overhang near the summit of the mountain as rain began to fall. It was here, while waiting for the storm to pass, that he noticed a peculiar stone, seemingly shaped or "worked" by human hands. Unable to move it initially, Doc dug around the rock until he could get a grip. With considerable effort, he dislodged it, revealing a dark, vertical shaft descending into the depths of the mountain.
Peering into the darkness, Doc discerned the presence of an old, man-made shaft, distinguished by a thick, wooden pole affixed to one side. His initial assumption was that he had stumbled upon an abandoned mineshaft. Upon returning to camp, Doc shared his discovery with Babe, and the two decided to keep it a secret, planning a return trip to further investigate the mysterious shaft.
Within days, Doc and Babe returned to the site, equipped with ropes and flashlights, ready to explore the unknown depths of Victorio Peak. After testing the old wooden pole and deeming it unreliable, Doc opted to use a rope to descend into the narrow passageway. With Babe watching from above, Doc carefully made his way down the shaft, inching through the darkness for nearly 60 feet. Near the bottom, he encountered a massive boulder suspended from the ceiling, partially obstructing his path.
Navigating past the precarious boulder, Doc finally reached the bottom of the shaft, entering a chamber roughly the size of a small room. The walls of the chamber were adorned with drawings, some painted and others chiseled into the rock, seemingly created by Native American hands. At one end of the chamber, the shaft continued its descent. Doc, undeterred, began to climb down again, descending another 125 feet before the shaft leveled out into a large, natural cavern. Along one wall of this cavern, several smaller rooms had been carved out of the rock. As Doc cautiously stepped into the darkness, he was startled to discover a human skeleton, kneeling and bound to a stake driven into the ground. The skeleton’s hands were tied behind its back, suggesting the individual had been deliberately left there to die. Further exploration revealed more skeletons, most of them similarly bound and secured to stakes. In a small enclosure, resembling a burial chamber, he found even more skeletons stacked together. In total, Doc reportedly discovered 27 human skeletons within the mountain’s caverns.
As Doc continued his exploration of the side caverns, he stumbled upon a cache of treasure, including coins, jewels, saddles, and priceless artifacts, among them a gold statue of the Virgin Mary. He also found old letters, the most recent of which was dated 1880.
But this treasure was just a prelude to an even more astonishing discovery. In a deeper cavern, Doc found what he initially believed to be a stack of worthless iron bars. He estimated there were thousands of these bars, each weighing over 40 pounds, stacked against the wall. He struggled to lift even one, let alone consider the possibility of transporting them to the surface. This apparent stockpile of iron would later be estimated to be worth more than two billion dollars.
Doc filled his pockets with gold coins, grabbed a couple of jeweled swords, and painstakingly made his way back to Babe, who anxiously awaited his return. After recounting his experiences and showing her the loot, Babe insisted he retrieve one of the "iron bars" from the mine. After a difficult search, he found a small bar to carry back through the narrow passageway. Exhausted, he told Babe, "This is the last one of them babies I’m gonna bring out." However, when Babe rolled the bar over, she noticed a yellow gleam where the hillside gravel had scratched off layers of grime. What had appeared to be a piece of iron was, in fact, a solid gold bar.
After discovering the treasure, Doc and Babe devoted their time to exploring the tunnels inside the mountain, living in a tent at the base of the peak. On each trip, Doc would retrieve two gold bars and as many artifacts as he could carry. At one point, he brought out a crown containing 243 diamonds and one pigeon-blood ruby. Yet, Doc trusted no one, not even Babe, and would disappear into the desert to hide pieces of the treasure in secret locations.
Among the artifacts, Doc is said to have retrieved documents dated 1797, which he buried in the desert in a Wells Fargo chest, along with other treasures. While the originals have never been recovered, a copy of one of the documents was found to be a translation from Pope Pius III. However, Doc Noss was primarily interested in the gold coins and bars, largely ignoring the historical significance of the pouches, packs, and other artifacts.
However, Doc was unable to capitalize on the gold bars because, four years before his discovery, Congress had passed the Gold Act, which outlawed the private ownership of gold. Unable to sell the gold bars on the open market, Noss was stymied but continued to work steadily to remove the treasure.
In the spring of 1938, Doc Noss and Babe went to Santa Fe to establish legal ownership of the find, filing a lease with the State of New Mexico for the entire section of land surrounding Victorio Peak. Subsequently, he also filed several mining claims on and around the peak, as well as a treasure trove claim. With legal ownership seemingly established, Noss began to work the claim openly, but he also became increasingly paranoid, hiding gold bars throughout the desert.
When Doc’s story eventually made headlines, scholars began to speculate about the origins of the enormous treasure stashed inside Victorio Peak. Some believe Doc Noss had found the Casa del Cueva de Oro, Spanish for the House of the Golden Cave. Others believe Noss found the treasure of Don Juan de Oñate, who founded New Mexico as a Spanish colony in 1598. Oñate, in his relentless pursuit of the Seven Cities of Gold, was rumored to have amassed a treasure of gold, silver, and jewels before being ordered back to Mexico City in 1607. Still others suggest that the treasure might be the missing wealth of Emperor Maximilian, who ruled Mexico in the 1860s. As the story goes, Maximilian moved his gold and treasures out of Mexico when he heard of a plot to assassinate him, sending a palace full of valuables to the United States for safekeeping. Maximilian was assassinated in 1867.
Finally, another theory suggests that the treasures were hidden by Apache Chief Victorio, for whom the peak is named. Victorio used the Hembrillo Basin as his stronghold, resisting the government’s attempts to confine him to the San Carlos Reservation in Arizona. After a treaty was broken with the discovery of gold, Victorio went to war in 1878. Victorio knew how much the white man valued gold, and, in the war, amassed vast amounts of treasure by raiding wagon trains, settlements, mail coaches, churches, and other settlements. The captured prisoners were sometimes taken back to the Basin, tortured, and killed.
In the fall of 1939, Doc sought to enlarge the passageway into Victorio Peak to facilitate the easier removal of the treasures. He hired a mining engineer, S.E. Montgomery, and together they ventured into the mountain to blast out the shaft. The engineer suggested using eight sticks of dynamite, a suggestion that Doc vehemently opposed, claiming the mountain was too unstable. However, the "expert" prevailed, and the blast proved to be a disaster, causing a cave-in that collapsed the fragile shafts, effectively sealing Doc out of his mine.
Doc made several attempts to regain entry to his mine, but the shaft was blocked by tons of debris. These failed attempts left him embittered and angry, causing problems in his marriage. He soon deserted Babe, and a divorce was granted in November 1945. Two years later, he married Violet Lena Boles, further complicating ownership of the treasure rights.
Now, instead of having thousands of gold bars, Noss had only a few hundred that he had hidden in the desert. Becoming desperate for cash, Doc and a man named Joseph Andregg transported gold bars, coins, jewels, and artifacts into Arizona, selling them on the black market.
In 1948, Doc met Charles Ryan, a Texan involved in drilling operations and oil exploration in West Texas. Noss agreed with Ryan to exchange some of the gold bars for $25,000 to reopen the shaft. Meanwhile, Babe Noss had filed a counter-claim on the entire area. Denied entry by the courts until legalities could determine the legal owner of the mine, Doc feared Ryan would back out of the deal. Sensing a double-cross by Ryan, Doc dug up the gold that was to be used in the exchange and reburied it in a place where Ryan was unaware.
The next day, March 5, 1949, Ryan arrived in the area, insisting that they discuss the problem of what happened to the gold. However, Noss demanded to see the money before revealing the new hiding place. Ryan hinted that if Noss did not reveal the whereabouts of the gold, Doc would not live to enjoy it. An intense argument ensued, and Noss headed toward his car. Fearing Doc was getting a gun, Ryan fired a warning shot in Doc’s direction, demanding that Noss back away from the vehicle. Noss refused to obey, and Ryan fired again, hitting Noss in the head, killing him instantly. Just 12 years after discovering the treasure, Doc Noss died with just $2.16 in his pocket. Ryan was charged with murder but was later acquitted.
As the years passed, Babe Noss held onto her claim at Victorio Peak, occasionally hiring men to help her clear the shaft. However, it was a slow process, and in 1955, the White Sands Missile Range unexpectedly expanded their operations to encompass the Hembrillo Basin. Babe then began a regular correspondence with the military, requesting permission to work her claim, but she was always denied.
This was the beginning of protracted legal battles over the ownership of the claim. The military claim stemmed from a statement made by New Mexico officials on November 14, 1951, which withdrew prospecting, entry, location, and purchase under the mining laws, reserving the land for military use only. However, disputing the military claim, New Mexico officials stated that they leased only the land’s surface to the military.
Becoming even more complicated, a search of mining records failed to turn up any existing claims – including that of Doc Noss. Additionally, the actual land where Victorio Peak is located was not owned by the State of New Mexico but rather by a man named Roy Henderson, who had leased it to the Army.
The dispute was finally worked out when a federal court issued a compromise of sorts, which stated the Army would continue to use the land’s surface, but no one would be allowed on the property without the Army’s consent. In effect, no one could mine the treasure, and that included the Army and Babe Noss.
Even though the military refused any of Babe’s efforts to work her claim, it did not refuse other military personnel from exploring portions of Victorio Peak. Two airmen from nearby Holloman Air Force Base would later say that they had found the gold cavern from another natural opening in the side of the peak. The soldiers, Airman First Class Thomas Berlett and Captain Leonard V. Fiege, said they had found approximately 100 gold bars weighing between 40 and 80 pounds each in a small cavern. After the discovery, Fiege told several people that he had caved in the roof and walls to make it look like the tunnel ended.
Berlett and Fiege formed a corporation to protect what they had found and make a formal application to enter White Sands for a search and retrieval of the gold. However, White Sands issued an edict expressly forbidding them to return to the base. In the summer of 1961, Major General John Shinkle of White Sands allowed Captain Fiege, Captain Orby Swanner, Major Kelly, and Colonel Gorman to work the claim. On August 5, Fiege and his party returned to Victorio Peak, accompanied by the commander of the Missile Range, a secret service agent, and 14 military police. General Shinkle finally had enough and ordered everyone out. Later, Fiege would take a lie detector test, which would allow Fiege back on the missile range. This time, the military began a full-scale mining operation at the Peak.
Fueled by suspicions that the military was working her claim, Babe Noss hired four men to enter the range secretly. Though caught trespassing and escorted from the area, the men reported observing several men in Army fatigues upon the peak. Immediately reporting the activity to Babe Noss, Babe contacted Oscar Jordan with the New Mexico State Land Office, who, in turn, contacted the Judge Advocate’s Office at White Sands. In December 1961, General Shinkle shut down the operation and excluded anyone from entering the base who was not directly engaged in the missile research activities.
In 1963, the Gaddis Mining Company of Denver, Colorado, obtained permission to work the site under a contract with the Denver Mint and the Museum of New Mexico. For three months beginning on June 20, 1963, the group used various techniques to search the area; however, they failed to turn up anything.
In 1972, F. Lee Bailey became involved in the dispute, representing some 50 clients, including Babe Noss, the Fiege group, Violet Noss Yancy, Expeditions Unlimited, and many others. Reaching a compromise, the military allowed Expeditions Unlimited to excavate the peak in 1977. However, the Army placed a two-week time limit on the group, and they had hardly started before they were forced to leave, without finding anything. The Army then shut down all operations, stating that no additional searches would be allowed.
In 1979, Babe died without ever finding the treasure. However, Terry Delonas, her grandson, continued the family tradition and formed the Ova Noss Family Partnership. By this time, Babe’s story had spread across the nation. Hearing about the story, Captain Swanner, who was stationed at White Sands Missile Range in the early 1960s, came forward. Speaking to a Noss family member, he stated that he had been the Chief of Security in 1961 and was sent to inspect the report made by Airman Berlett and Captain Fiege. After determining the accuracy of the two men’s reports, the entire area was placed off-limits until an official investigation could be conducted. Reportedly the military was able to penetrate one of the caves and inventory the contents. The gold was supposedly removed from the cave and sent to Fort Knox. Though the military confirmed that Swanner had served at White Sands during this time, they claimed there were no documents to support an investigation into the mine nor the removal of the gold bars.
Today, the Army’s official position on the whereabouts of the gold remains cautious, maintaining that the burden of proof rests with the accusers.
Many Noss family members and friends believe that the military exploited Babe’s claim and that the treasure is now gone. However, Terry Delongas stated, "We’re not accusing the military of stealing the gold, but I do feel that the Department of the Army in the 1960s treated my grandmother unfairly… However, we’ve worked very hard over the years to establish a working relationship with the military, and we’re certainly not going to jeopardize that by accusing them of theft."
The whole truth will probably never be known, but there is no doubt that a treasure existed. Too much evidence supports the treasure, including photographs, affidavits, and relics held by the Noss family.
In a special act of Congress passed in 1989, the Hembrillo Basin was "unlocked" for Terry Delonas and the Noss heirs; however, nothing has been found.